Getting back into it

Hey fish heads!! My wife just got a new tank (Eclipse 29 gal. show combo) for an early Christmas gift and I'm helping to set it up. She has done salt water in the past, but I'm pretty new to the whole thing.

Three days ago, we filled it, put some crushed coral and sand in the bottom and are in the process of letting the tank cycle while we aim for the correct salinity. It was a bit low today, so she's adding a touch more tonight...

Now for the newbie question:

We have some old coral that was used in a freshwater tank about six years ago and has been stored in a plastic bag. Do we need to go through the entire bleaching process to use these corals in our new tank, or will a good rinse do the trick?

Looking forward to having a nice tank and swapping tips!

 

Sense your cycling your tank in the first place. Id rebleach them.

 

What Do You Mean Bleaching? I Would Wash Them And Just Add Them While The Tank Is Cycling. Were They Used With Any Medication Or Copper? Do You Plan On A Fish Only Or A Reef?

 

I'll add to that. Yes, rebleach them. Just scrub them and let them sit in the sun. THEN, get yourself some Reef Builder from Kent Marine or Seachem and up your alkalinity. You may also need DKh builder, but probably not while cycling. Finally, go to your local fish store when you alkalinity is up and your water is stable and buy a small piece of nicely colored choraline encrusted live rock. Don't need much, just a baseball size or smaller. Take it home and scrape some of the choraline algae off the rock into a cup with some tank water (around 1/8-1/4 tbs will do, even less will work). Turn off all of your filters/skimmer and pour the scrappings in the tank. If you don't have a powerhead stir your water occassionally with a soup spoon for the next 30-45 minutes. Then, go ahead and turn your filter back on. Put the rock in your tank and wait. What this will do is spread the coraline algae spores aroung the tank. Hopefully they will grab onto the new coral and start building beautiful colors on it.

 

Thanks!

There was no medication involved previously, but I thought it would be a good idea to clean all of it off anyway...thanks again for the conformation.

The tank we have is one of those "all in one" deals with the filter, bio-wheel and powerhead built into the back.

We're probably going to do a little live rock, some small fish and a few inverts, but no real plans as of yet. Gotta get the water right first!

 

welcome to 3reef

 

Welcome to 3reef!!!
Good to hear that your gonna be taking your time!!! Thats a real plan!
If you have doubt about your rock, go ahead and boil it with fresh water, that should clear it of all impurity,and almost all lifeform.